Mornings with Rosemary | 
pickUsually, I'm not a fan of feel good books as they tend to be very cheesy. But this one I very much liked. I enjoyed how Libby Page writes about time passing. It's a book filled with nostalgia which also talks about what a community is made of. Well written, she's definitely written about what she knew, and it helped her staying away from clichés.
My current read ;)
Still have a lot of pages to read for my book club tomorrow morning... But with a warm chai, I should be able to make it.
And you, what is your current read?
pickThis beautiful book is a love story on multiple levels- that of life-long partners, of friends new and old, and love of a community. Mostly it made me reflect on how lucky I am to have my own local lido (pictured here closed for cold weather). Detroit's Brennan Pool opened in the 1920s, and was the site of the US swimming Olympic trials in the 1950s. Now I get to spend my sunny days here, and I'm reminded not to take that for granted.
pickRosemary is an 86 year old woman who has spent her whole life swimming at her local lido. Kate is a young journalist trying to find herself and take control of her recurring panic attacks. The two form a friendship as they fight to keep the lido from being closed to make way for an expensive new apartment complex. I loved their relationship and the community involvement in trying to save the lido. A great beach read, perfect for the pool too!
pickI thought this was lovely! Likeable, relatable characters, a heartwarming plot, a little weepy bit or two - what a delight!! This was recommended to me so much, so I‘m really glad I finally had a chance to get stuck in! And reading about the sunshine was delightful in a week of nothing but rain!!
so-soI loved the premise of this story; a lido in Brixton facing closure to make way for luxury flats, and the community who rallies to try and save it. However the writing wasn‘t for me, I found it a little too sweet and cliched and wanted more depth from the characters. Still, a quick easy summer read and I love the cover (also lucky enough to be reading it by the side of an actual lido 🏊♂️)
pickThis is the book I needed right now. I have been missing swimming laps so much and this was the next best thing. It had all the things I love: intergenerational friendship among women, a strong sense of community, well done side characters, thoughtful observations and beautiful sentences, all centered around a pool. It made me feel all the feelings and it‘s a rare book I would read again. #BookSpin pick finished.
#BookspinBingo Board created! Both my BookSpin and Double Spin books are about swimming, which is the thing I have missed most during the pandemic. Thanks so much for hosting this, @TheAromaofBooks ! I really look forward to it each month!
Going to the local lido is more than just going for a #Swim to Kate and Rosemary - it‘s a community hub that‘s worth fighting for.
#BoundTogetherJune
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@OriginalCyn620
Fascinated by the international cover choices for this one.
pickThe writing in this book is not perfect but this story truly spoke to me... it‘s a story about a public outdoor pool facing closure in South London, about a friendship between a lonely young woman who suffers from panic attacks and a widowed old lady, and about what community means to us all. ⬇️
The men looked a little surprised when they saw her sticking flyers...
#bookclubbook #swimming
pickA heartwarming story of a young reporter and her elderly friend who attempt to save their community swimming pool, The Lido.
I‘m only 27 pages in & I am hooked. This is a great phrase, “...before she caught the infection of self-consciousness...”
#7days7covers #CoverCrush #Day7 💕
I tag @Klou if you‘d like to play along? Just post 1 cover you love, each day for 7 days, no explanation needed and use the hashtags 😊💕
pickI really don't want to spoil this gorgeous book... 💓💓💓💓
All the feelings, all the emotions and still a smiling on my face, after this great read, which I first thought would be a light summer read, got a book about the great themes in life: love, friendship, lost and fears.
Highly recommended! 💓💓💓
Some early morning reads... Another night with less sleep 😴😴😴🤫🤫🤫
When the thunder wakes you up early in the morning, what do you do? Take your Kindle, your current read, your new favourite mug and start to read at 5 a.m. I know, who will sleep in the office... 🙋
I really enjoying the tagged book. Has anyone already read it?
so-soI really wanted to really like this book. Its themes of friendship and community, and what can be achieved when people pull together, gave this so much potential, but it didn‘t quite hit the mark. It‘s a very sweet story, which is part of the problem, because it‘s saccharin sweet, and the prose in places is dubious -pink snow???
panI can't put my finger on exactly why, but this book grated on me like I've not experienced in a long time. Perhaps going into it with high expectations did me no favours. This would probably fall into the category of summer/beach reads as it's of medium length and has little to no substance.
#Water #SpringIntoReading
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @vkois88
Do you remember all the books that you own? I've totally forgotten about this book til I was looking through a file of books photo on my phone. I won this copy from a giveaway last year but still haven't read it yet 🙈 I know..I'm feeling terrible about it too.
#newbook #booknerd #readinglife #bibliophile #lovereading #fiction
“Love is love... just like a tree is a tree. It can be a sapling or a hundred-year-old oak, but it still has roots and life and is at the mercy of the seasons.”
There were many things about this book I genuinely enjoyed: the intergenerational female relationships, the community coming together, the focus on growth through transitions and change, and the tender portrayal of anxiety. Glad I read it! Makes me ready for summer!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
pickI spotted this book somewhere on social media a while ago. I think it was released in England/Europe before North America and consequently I struggled to find it again. It was the elusive “book with a blue cover” for about a year, luckily the Gods smiled on me and I was able to nail down the title again. It‘s just a delight of a book. I bought a new bather yesterday so I can start doing laps at my outdoor neighbourhood Lido, if it ever warms up.
I can‘t wait for summer so I can swim at my local pool. 🏊🏻♀️
pickThis book has inter generational friendships, female empowerment and a strong sense of community all of which I loved. That the writer expresses such lovely strong emotions about swimming was the cherry on the cake. For some it may be a little too saccharine but I found it joyful and uplifting even if I did shed a tear or two (to the consternation of the air steward who was serving me!) ⬇️
1. Been on a soup making kick trying to get more veggies into me! 2.done (it‘s for#newyearwhodis) 3. Excluding those we have gone through on the overnight train 13 plus Washington DC (never very sure on DC status in such things) - not a bad count for a Brit! 4. I‘m slowly building a collection of girls school stories from the 1920s to 1950s - I try and buy in shops vs online 5. only work plans to Boston and Munich so far #humpdaypost @MinDea
Look at the lovely #christmasbookswap package I received! I can't thank you enough, Lynne (who I haven't convinced to join Litsy yet, but I'm working on it.) I'll carry this tote with me everywhere, and I can't wait to dig in to The Lido. #holidaybookswap
"How can letting her read all the books she likes be a bad?"
YES!!!!
#TheLido #LibbyPage
so-soBetween a Pick and a So-So. It‘s about a friendship between a young journalist who struggles with panic attacks and an elderly woman who is mourning the death of her husband. The two work together with the neighbors to try to save the local swimming pool (lido, a term that was new to me) from corporate closure. The parts about Rosemary remembering her marriage brought me to tears, but overall it wasn‘t a home run for me. A bit over-sweet, maybe?
pickI‘ve just finished the book with tears streaming down my face. It is a beautiful heartwarming story about finding a friend when you really need one.
